


I Like You A Latte

by Joshifer4Everlark



Series: Handcuffs, Hijinks and Other Adventures [12]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 09:51:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13245714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joshifer4Everlark/pseuds/Joshifer4Everlark
Summary: My version of the stereotypical ‘Coffee Shop AU’ fic that everyone does.Part of the "Handcuffs, Hijinks and Other Adventures" series.





	I Like You A Latte

**Author's Note:**

> Someone suggested that all of my works be published as individual stories. So this is cross posted as part of the "Handcuffs, Hijinks and Other Adventures" series. This story was originally posted on November 11th, 2017.

‘Thud.’ Beca’s head connected with the oak table she was currently sitting at, headphones knocked askew, and papers now slightly crinkled from where she smushed her face onto the surface. She let out a groan and looked at her watch. The lime green LED display flashed the time brightly back at her. She blinked a few times to clear her vision, as she blearily tried to make out the numbers on the face of her watch. 9:45pm. The coffee shop she was currently at would be closing in 15 minutes. She took a quick scan around at her surroundings and stretched, yawning loudly. Random bones cracked and popped from being hunched over a laptop for so long, but it felt so good to Beca. When she removed her noise cancelling headphones, it seemed as if the quiet place was suddenly as loud as a freight train. Beca’s ears were slightly flattened from having it on so long, and her head was hurting from where they had been pressing her ear monstrosities against her skull.

 

Scattered amongst Beca’s booth next to a large coffee cup with music notes on it, were hastily scribbled in composition notebooks and a few jump drives with some demos on it that she was supposed to go through. Working as an executive producer for Universal Music Group had its perks for sure, but it also meant a lot of late nights alone in front of a laptop, be it in the studio or somewhere else. However, to Beca, it was worth it, because she got to do what she loved. She was good at her job, and people were finally starting to see that. Beca chose this particular coffee shop for a few reasons, with the most logical reason being the location. It was only a few minutes away from her house, and it was never too crowded. The convenience combined with the fact that she only had to have minimal interactions with other people made it very appealing.

 

Other things working in the small shop’s favor was the coffee itself, and the staff.  She wasn’t really a fan of chain stores, and she definitely wasn’t a fan of overly chatty employees. There was just something calming about the local business that put Beca at ease. The quality of the coffee wasn’t the world’s greatest, but she didn’t have a complicated order, and it was still far superior to anything Starbucks offered. However, it was the staff at The Magic Bean that really tipped the scale in the shops favor. Aside from one of the girls hitting on her the first time she set foot into the building, they mostly left her alone while still making sure she was taken care of properly. Beca had even become friends with the girl who had tried to proposition her, as well as with the rest of the staff.

 

At first, Aubrey, the manager, thought that Beca was about to smack the tall, long legged girl. Instead, Beca just snorted at Stacie’s terrible pick-up lines and gestured to herself replying, “You wouldn’t be able to handle all of this.” Ever since that fateful first day, that Beca had stumbled across the shop almost 2 years ago, she had become a regular.

 

Beca wasn’t the most social person on the planet, but she at least knew everyone who worked there, and they knew who she was too. One time, last winter, Beca had gotten sick and didn’t come in for 4 days in a row. Aubrey actually called Beca’s work to make sure everything was okay. At first, Beca thought it was weird, but when Jesse explained that they were just concerned about her wellbeing, she was truly kind of touched. Nobody had really cared about her or how she was doing in a very long time, and she had almost forgotten what it felt like. Everyone at The Magic Bean loved Beca, and Beca had grown to love them as well. They were like a little family, and looked out for each other. They were there in the bad times, and always celebrated each other’s successes too.

 

When Benji got a slot at the local theater to do his magic tricks, they all went to see him perform. When Aubrey’s boyfriend broke up with her, they burned all of his things and then went out for drinks. When Fat Amy returned home from an extended trip to Australia, they had a welcome back party that lasted almost a week. And, when Beca was nominated for (and won) 2 Grammy’s the same winter that she had been sick, they even had a watch party.

* * *

Beca frequented The Magic Bean almost every day of the week, and would sometimes swing by multiple times in a single day if she really needed it or was just bored. Since she was always there, Beca had a usual spot in the coffee shop, and she always ordered the same thing. Black dark roast coffee. No cream. No sugar. Extra strong in the morning, decaf if it was after about 1pm. As much as Beca needed her caffeine to function, she also needed sleep, and if she drank too much caffeine, she would be up until 4am, totally wired and unable to sleep.

 

If it was in the summer, it changed from hot coffee to an iced cold brew drip coffee, but that was the only difference. The staff knew to always have a carafe set aside specifically for Beca if she wanted it, but not to bother her or try and engage in conversations with her when she got up for refills if she looked especially like she was in the zone. Sometimes the staff would even put the container directly on Beca’s table so she didn’t have to get up at all. For those reasons, a very grateful Beca left a hefty tip every time.

 

On this particular Monday, Beca had been there over 8 hours. She had already consumed multiple cups of coffee, but was still powering on through. Her shift at the recording studio had ended at noon, and she had arrived right after she had a quick lunch with Jesse, who worked in the same studio as she did, but as a film scorer. Her stomach growled as she realized just how hungry she was. Beca loved food, and right now her belly was very displeased. Beca was so engrossed in her work that she had forgotten to eat dinner. Beca wasn’t sure which was more shocking to her; the fact that she was working so hard that she forgot to eat, or that she had worked that hard in the first place.

 

            As Beca finished stretching and looked around the mostly deserted coffee shop, she made eye contact with Benji, who worked the night shift. He smiled gently at her, and went on to do some pre-close cleaning around the coffee since the building was pretty much empty. Having decided that she had worked enough for the night, Beca moved to pack up her things and go home, vowing to stop at Taco Bell on the way home so she wouldn’t starve to death.

 

            “Have a good night!” Benji said, as he swept up, giving Beca a wave as she headed towards the door. Beca tiredly gave another slight tilt of her head in acknowledgement, and disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

          The first time that Beca noticed something was different was 2 weeks later. Instead of Stacie greeting her as she walked in that afternoon, there was a new employee standing behind the counter. She had striking blue eyes and flaming red hair. Beca was instantly mesmerized by the woman who was saying something she was apparently supposed to be listening to.

 

            “I’m sorry, what now?” Beca said, still frozen in the doorway to the shop.

 

            “I said, welcome to The Magic Bean, what can I get you today?” the ginger repeated, smiling happily.

 

            “Oh, um. Just my usual, and keep it coming,” Beca replied, handing her a $10 bill and heading over to her spot. As she placed her things down on the table, she glanced towards the back counter where her coffee was usually kept at, expecting to see it coming. What she saw instead puzzled her. The woman had made absolutely no attempt to move, and was staring at Beca very intently.

 

            “What?” Beca asked, feeling annoyed. “Did it not get made today? Because if it didn’t I swear to god I’m going to kill Stacie. It’s not that hard…”

 

            “I, um. I’m sorry,” the girl began apologetically as her face fell a bit. “Stacie isn’t here yet, but she’ll be here later. It’s my first day, so I don’t know if it got made today or not.” Beca just continued to stare, wishing that she could just have her coffee already, and silently scolding herself for forgetting that Stacie told her she had changed shifts. The tall girl had mentioned that there would be a different staffing rotation, but Beca apparently didn’t realize that it could possibly include new people.

 

“I don’t know what your usual is,” she said sheepishly. “But if you tell me what you like, I can make it for you.”

 

            Beca mentally face-palmed, and could feel her cheeks flush in embarrassment. Of course she didn’t know what Beca’s usual order was. Since Beca had never seen the poor woman before in her life, it was a pretty safe bet to assume that the barista had probably never seen Beca either. How could she be expected to know a total strangers’ coffee order?

 

“Oh right. Sorry. You probably don’t know,” Beca said. “Just give me an Arabica dark roast coffee. Extra strong, but you’ll probably need to start a decaf pot too. I have a feeling I’ll be here a while.

 

            “Any cream or sugar?”

 

            “Neither.”

 

The girl regarded Beca for a moment, and then her face broke out into a huge grin of recognition. “You must be Beca!”

 

“Yes…” Beca replied slowly. “And you are…?”

 

“I’m Chloe! Stacie said you’d probably be coming by.”

 

“Did she now?” Beca said, curiously. “And what did she say about me?”

 

“She said that a tiny antisocial brunette with ear spikes would be here in the afternoon and to have an entire pot set aside just for you or you’d walk right back out and leave a bad Yelp review.”

 

Beca sniggered at her friend’s antics, and said, “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

 

“I kinda wondered why there was a carafe with a skull and crossbones sign on it on the back counter. It said, ‘Touch it and Die’ on it, so I definitely didn’t touch it,” Chloe reassured her, seeing the expression on Beca’s face.

 

“Well, I appreciate that,” Beca said awkwardly, trying her hardest to act like a normal person. “I didn’t know that was a thing… I’m sorry. Stacie is such a weirdo,” she added apologetically. Beca didn’t particularly want to have the reputation of being such a high-maintenance asshole that it would warrant the skull and crossbones sign with a warning of imminent death on her coffee pot. Especially since it was her first impression in front of this girl.

 

Chloe, to her credit, didn’t say anything and just kept smiling at her. “One cup of coffee coming right up,” she chirped joyfully and turned to grab the pitcher to pour some for Beca.

 

“I’ll be at my usual table,” Beca said, gesturing towards the aforementioned location. “It’s the blue and white booth in the back corner.” Beca’s booth always seemed to remain reserved, whether she was there or not.

 

Beca had just set out her laptop and was writing in her notebook when she caught sight of a spark of red in the corner of her eye. Chloe had brought Beca’s coffee by, and quietly placed it on the corner of the table.

 

            “Thanks,” Beca muttered, grabbing the mug but not looking up.

 

             “No problem Becs. Holler if you need anything!” Chloe said.

 

‘ _Becs_?’ Beca wondered, as she stared bewildered after the girl who had just left. ‘ _She has a nickname for me already_?”

 

            Shaking her head to clear her mind and focus herself, she settled in for a long afternoon of mixing.

* * *

 

In no time at all, Chloe seamlessly became part of the staff, and fit in perfectly with the routine they had sort of fell into. Aubrey opened the coffee shop and worked from 6am to 2pm. Chloe came in at 10am and stayed until 4pm. Stacie’s shift began when Aubrey left at 2pm, and she stayed until 8. Benji would come in to take over at 4 when Chloe left and closed up shop at 10pm. Jessica, Ashley, Fat Amy and Cynthia Rose worked the same shifts, but on the weekends. In fact, Beca had almost forgotten that Kori had even worked there before Chloe had replaced her.

 

It was around 4:00pm in afternoon on a Saturday 2 months later, and for once Beca didn’t have any work that needed to be completed. Even though she had no reason to go there, and could just have easily made something at home for free, she decided to go and grab a quick snack at The Magic Bean before meeting up with Stacie that evening. Beca found herself going to The Magic Bean almost every day of the week anyway, so why not?

 

When she walked in, a bubbly voice greeted her said “Hi Becs!”

 

            Not expecting to see Chloe working on a Saturday, Beca smiled and waved.

 

“Hey Chloe. I wasn’t expecting to see you here today.”

 

“CR is sick, so I picked up her shift,” Chloe explained. “It should be a pretty easy night though. Not many people come in to a coffee shop on a Saturday night. They’re usually doing something a bit more fun.”

 

“I come in on Saturday nights sometimes,” Beca said.

 

“You’re different. You’re such a workaholic, you even fall asleep here sometimes. Plus, you come in so often you practically live here,” Chloe teased.

 

“I do not. I do other things too,” replied Beca.

 

“Like what, Miss “I Hate People”? Chloe shot back.

 

“I go out… sometimes. Like, not very often, but I do!” Beca said defensively.

 

“Well, you don’t have your work stuff with you tonight so I guess it’s possible. I like that outfit, by the way,” Chloe added. “You look great.”

 

Beca looked down at what she was wearing. It was slightly nicer than usual, but still something she would normally wear. She didn’t really see the big deal about this particular choice in clothing, but for some unexplained reason she was incredibly happy Chloe approved of it.

 

“Thanks. I dressed myself today,” Beca said, trying to play it cool.

 

“I’m assuming you want the usual?”

 

“When don’t I?” Beca said sarcastically. “But yeah, my usual would be great, thanks,” Beca said smiling at her friend. “Make it a decaf please, though. Oh, and gimme one of those cheese danishes. I want a snack before dinner.”

 

Laughing at Beca’s comment, Chloe went to grab Beca’s usual mug, but before she could pour any coffee in it, Beca stopped her.

 

“Actually, can I have it in a to-go cup, please? I’m getting together with someone in a bit.”

 

 “Oooh. You look fancy and you want a to-go cup. Got a hot date tonight or something?” Chloe joked.

 

“Something like that,” Beca said, thinking of how unattractive her night with Stacie would be, but not really realizing the way it could be interpreted.

 

“Oh really?”

 

“Yeah, you could say so,” Beca answered vaguely, while looking at the rest of the items in the pastry case with interest.

 

“Hmm,” Chloe said, turning quickly so Beca couldn’t see the look of disappointment on her face. Chloe didn’t know why she was feeling like that. For some reason, she didn’t like the idea of Beca going on a date. Chloe didn’t own Beca, and the girl could pursue a relationship whomever she wanted. She just wished _she_ was the one dating Beca. Quite early on into their friendship, Chloe had decided she was going to become best friends with the secretly soft girl, but somewhere within the last month or so, she had begun to develop deeper feelings. She hadn’t said anything yet, still trying to get a feel of possible returned feelings, but with Beca’s comments, her hopes had just been slightly dashed.

 

“Here you go,” Chloe said smiling, handing Beca a to-go cup of coffee and her cheese danish in a bag with slightly less enthusiasm than before.

 

Beca didn’t notice the subtle change, but accepted the coffee and handed Chloe a $20 bill. “Keep the change.”

 

“Thanks!” the redhead replied, as she put the cash in the tip jar.

 

Beca nodded, and headed out the door, while Chloe wistfully watched her go.

* * *

‘ _Beep beep_.’ Beca looked up from her phone.

 

“Hey hot stuff,” came a flirty voice from inside a convertible. Beca hauled herself up off the steps of her house that she was sitting on, and smiled. After she had gotten her snack and coffee, she had gone home and did some light cleaning because she knew she wouldn’t be getting around to it for the rest of the weekend.

 

“Hey Conrad.”

 

“Ready for ‘dinner and dish night’?” the girl asked. “I’ve got a lot of gossip to catch you up on.”

 

“Sounds good. I’m starving,” Beca replied. “Let’s go.”

 

 ‘Dinner and dish night’ was when Beca and Stacie would get together and catch up with each other’s lives while eating like pigs and getting drunk. They got to complain and confess things, and nothing was off limits or judged. Stacie wanted to call it ‘girls night’ because fundamentally, that was what it was, but Beca had put her foot down on that.

 

“ _Stace, you know I don’t do girly shit like ‘girls night ’or whatever,”_ when Stacie had originally approached her with the idea. After they compromised, and re-named it to Beca’s liking, she reluctantly agreed. “ _Okay fine. We can hang out. But absolutely no sleepovers. Even if I happen to fall asleep, it does NOT count as a sleepover. We’re not 12.”_ Beca had said firmly, sticking out her tongue as any mature adult would. “Thus, ‘Dinner and Dish night’ was born.

* * *

On this particular ‘Dish’ night, they went to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner, because Beca had been craving pasta all week. Stacie informed Beca of all the new celebrity news she had missed as well as her personal sexual conquests. In return, Beca bitched to Stacie about her dad, and talked about what she was working on with some of the clients she had at the studio. They got some weird looks, especially when Stacie would loudly exclaim “Oh my God, no way?” every time Beca mentioned an artist she liked.

 

 Then they went back to Stacie’s place, and ate junk food, got drunk, and binge-watched season 2 of _Stranger Things_ on Netflix until they passed out. They would take turns picking the restaurant and what to watch and who’s place to have it at. It was something that they had been regularly doing almost every month and they both looked forward to the event.

 

It was cathartic to Beca to have people like Stacie in her life, that she could go to if she needed. She didn’t realize how much she appreciated her friends, until Jesse pointed it out to her one day. Beca didn’t _do_ feelings, but made a mental note to try and verbalize (or at least show some other way) how much she valued them, regardless of how painful it may be to do so. Beca had gone from the ‘loner alt-girl’ in high school, to a successful music producer with a small, but solid group of friends. Beca had even added Chloe into that circle, even though she had only known the girl for a very short amount of time. The second day of knowing Beca, Chloe had announced to the whole coffee shop that they would be best friends from then on, and as skeptical as Beca was initially at that fact, it was turning out to be true. 

 

 

Over the last few months, Chloe and Beca had become closer, far more quickly than any other person Beca had ever met. Beca and Stacie weren’t even really friends for a good 6 months or so after meeting. That was mostly Beca’s doing though, seeing as she didn’t really converse with people when she was working on producing her music tracks or coming up with ideas for new songs. Stacie and Beca would catch up and talk occasionally when she came in to the shop, but they would mostly only had standing plans to hang out during Dinner and Dish night. Until Beca met the one and only Chloe Beale, socializing with people was something she had only really ever done with Stacie and Jesse. When Beca hung out with either Stacie or Jesse, it was mostly because they decided she had been antisocial enough and asked her to go do something with them. Jesse and Stacie understood her need for space, and for the most part, they respected it. Chloe however, did not seem to understand the concept of space. And because of that, had wormed her way into Beca’s life so quickly that Beca didn’t even realize it. Beca had never allowed Jesse and Stacie in quite as far as the redhead so quickly. Stacie knew quite a lot, but that took almost a whole year of friendship and many drinks. Jesse knew what he needed to know, but Beca was working on opening up more with him too. In fact, if anything important happened to Beca while she was at work, Jesse was often the first to know, since he worked in the same building as her. And sure, she was friendly with the rest of the staff at The Magic Bean, but when they hung out, it was usually as a group.

 

Chloe on the other hand, was a totally different story. She was not about to let Beca slide with the whole ‘antisocial and broody’ act. See, Chloe had a unique tactic when it came to approaching a friendship. When Chloe brought Beca a fresh cup of coffee the second day of working at The Magic Bean, instead of just placing it on the table and leaving, she pushed some of Beca’s materials aside, and plopped herself down in the booth next to her, demanding to know what the tiny musician was occupied with. The next day, Chloe brought over a bear claw for the workaholic and told Beca that she wouldn’t get to eat it unless she let her listen to the song she was working on. Every hour or so, Chloe would even look over to Beca in her booth, and check for the tell-tale signal that Beca’s mug was empty. If Beca didn’t have a container of coffee to refill her cup with on her own, she would subconsciously push her mug towards the edge of the booth, and Chloe took that as a cue to come fill it up again.

 

Whenever the coffee shop wasn’t busy, Chloe would physically go check on her favorite customer. She’d sit in the booth and chat with Beca about random things and only ever got up if someone came in or needed something. Chloe was slightly distracting to the music producer, and Beca was nowhere near as productive as she used to be before Chloe started working at the coffee shop, but she never really minded or told Chloe to leave.

 

And that’s how it began. Chloe knew more about Beca and her life in a week, than Stacie and Jesse did in months. While Beca, Jesse and Stacie did spend time together, it was nowhere near as often as Beca hung out Chloe. Chloe would frequently ask the music producer to hang out outside of the coffee shop, and after realizing she wasn’t going to stop bugging her, Beca relented. They were constantly going to movies and out to eat and to various other social activities the redhead dragged her to. Chloe also texted Beca multiple times a day, even while she was standing 10 feet away from where Beca was working.

 

Beca told Chloe what she was doing in the studio and let her listen to some of her latest mixes and ideas. Chloe gave Beca some valued insight, and loved telling her funny things that happened at the coffee shop as well. The Magic Bean attracted many different types of people, and both Beca and Chloe loved watching all the customers that came through. On the days Beca had off, or when she didn’t have anything she had to work on and Chloe wasn’t needed, they were busy observing all the patrons.  First dates were especially fun to creep on. Their favorite thing to do though, was to make up background stories about the customers that came through.

 

_‘I bet that guy is going to get written up at work for being late,’ Beca, the pessimist said one morning, as she watched a frazzled business man running out the door after quickly grabbing his coffee._

 

_‘I bet that girl is going to cure cancer someday,’ Chloe, the optimist, replied one afternoon, pointing towards a college-aged looking girl who was furiously working away in the corner, surrounded by science textbooks and a well-worn looking laptop._

_‘I bet that a certain ginger won’t have a job if she doesn’t get back to work…’ said Aubrey, as she walked past the two, over hearing their conversation._

* * *

When Beca walked in that following Monday, Chloe was behind the counter, cleaning the espresso machine. When Beca approached the front, Chloe wordlessly handed her a mug of coffee and resumed her cleaning. Slightly bewildered, Beca retreated to her normal booth and began working. When Chloe didn’t come sit with Beca on her break or bring her a fresh cup of coffee when she ran out, she started to get worried.

 

Beca waited until there were only a few customers in the shop and then slowly approached the counter. Beca hated confrontation, and wanted as small of an audience as possible in case something went wrong. Chloe was obviously ignoring her, and as far as Beca knew, she hadn’t done anything to warrant the unusual cold shoulder. She wasn’t as well versed about friends as most, but Beca knew enough to know that was not normal behavior.

 

“Hey Chloe, umm…” Beca began hesitantly. “Can I get a refill please?”

 

“You know where the pot is,” came the reply.

 

At this point, after 2 years of frequenting the shop Beca was pretty much considered an honorary employee. Beca even knew how to make some of the simpler drinks. She could go behind the counter and get her coffee and whatever she wanted to eat whenever she wanted, so long as she didn’t make a mess or get in the way of whoever was working.

 

Still perplexed, Beca moved to go behind the counter to get it, but before she could get all the way there, the pot appeared in front of her, and the swinging door remained shut. At that point, Beca had had enough. Looking around to make sure the coffee shop was still relatively empty, she drew in a deep breath and mentally prepared herself to address the girl. She had never been upset with Chloe before, and didn’t know how to be mad at her without feeling like she kicked a puppy.

 

“Okay. What is your problem Chloe? Are you okay? You’ve been acting weird all day, and I don’t like it,” Beca said looking as confused as she felt. “Did I do something to upset you?”

 

            “Mmmm? Oh no, I’m fine. You’re fine. Everything is fine. I’m sorry,” Chloe affirmed evasively. “It’s just been one of those days. Super busy and whatnot. You understand.”

 

            The place was not busy at all. There were 4 other people in the shop, and there hadn’t been a new customer that came in for over 20 minutes.

 

Beca chose not to point out that fact, and instead asked, “How was your weekend?”

 

“It was good. How was your date?” Chloe looked interested, but this time, Beca could see something else in between the lines. It looked an awful lot like jealousy, and Beca thought it was funny. The green monster was making an appearance, and Beca was not having it all, so she decided to mess Chloe a bit, to pay her back for the way she had been treating Beca the whole afternoon.

 

“It was great. We talked and ate some awesome food at this really nice Italian place. And afterwards, I went back to their place, had some booze and ‘Netflix and chilled’ if you know what I mean,” She teased, with a wink.

 

“How nice,” Chloe stated, in a tone that implied it was not nice at all.

 

“I had such a good time, I even spent the night.”

 

Chloe looked a bit upset, but tried to save it by saying, “Good for you. You never mentioned being involved with anyone, but I’d love to meet this boyfriend of yours sometime. Make sure he’s good enough for you and all.”

 

“I’m not involved with anyone. And since I don’t have a boyfriend you can’t meet him.”

 

Chloe, obviously thinking Beca just had a one-night stand, looked kind of miserable at this point, so Beca decided to give her a break.

 

“Oh, lighten up Red,” Beca said, “It was nothing. Why do you look so upset?”

 

Chloe didn’t look convinced. “I’m not…”

 

Scoffing, Beca said, “Yeah, okay. Whatever you say.”

 

“I’m really not upset, Beca. I’m glad you had a good time on your date,” Chloe said, lying through her teeth.

 

Finally, having decided she had messed with Chloe enough, Beca decided to take pity on her. “It wasn’t a date. And it wasn’t even with a boy.”

 

Chloe stared at Beca. Now it was her turn to be confused. “I don’t… What are you saying?”

 

“It was essentially girls night with Stacie. We do it about once a month. We drink and watch Netflix til we pass out and then spend all of Sunday recovering from our hangovers,” Beca explained, smirking at Chloe's reaction to this bit of information. Chloe blushed even more seeing Beca’s face. Beca, already knowing the answer, decided to get one last rise out of the girl.

 

“Why did you care so much Beale? Were you… Jealous?” Beca taunted.

 

“What? No. I—“ Chloe began.

 

“Yes, she was,” came Aubrey’s voice from the back room. “I had to hear about it all weekend.”

 

Chloe blushed even more, and sheepishly looked at Beca. “Okay… Maybe just a little bit.”

 

“Why?” Beca asked.

 

“Because Beca,” Chloe said, slightly exasperatedly. “I didn’t like the idea of you on a date.”

 

“Oh.” It was Beca’s turn to blush. With Chloe's new admission of feelings, Beca began to become acutely aware of her own possibly reciprocated ones. She had just written it off as Chloe being Chloe, but now she was starting to get that it was NOT normal for people who are ‘just friends’ to have the types of feelings about each other that Beca had for Chloe. Not to mention all of the physical contact that happened between the two girls. Chloe gave Beca hugs and kisses on a daily basis, sometimes more if she was feeling particularly affectionate and Beca had just learned to anticipate it. In fact, she kind of missed them, if she hadn’t been hugged in a while.

 

Beca _definitely_ didn’t allow Stacie or Jesse hug or kiss her. Or at least willingly. Stacie always enjoyed suffocating Beca with her boobs, but usually only hugged her to mess with her or if the situation was serious enough to warrant one. One time, Jesse pretended to try and kiss her to see how she would react, and he ended up with a broken nose. Beca was not used to emotions like this, and suddenly, everything began to hit her full force. Beca started to feel very awkward and couldn’t stand to be at the counter any longer.

 

“Um. I’m just… gonna go back to my booth,” Beca said, quickly spinning on her heels, forgetting her mug in the process.

 

A few minutes later, Chloe came up to Beca’s booth, holding 2 mugs. One was Beca’s usual mug, and one was Chloe's.

 

Beca looked up, to see a bashful looking Chloe standing by her booth.

 

“Mind if I sit?”

 

“It’s never stopped you before,” Beca said with a smile, moving some of her things over to make room for Chloe.

 

 “True,” Chloe said, as she sat down. “So, you do girls night with Stacie?”

 

“It’s _not_ called girls night,” Beca insisted. “But basically yes.”

 

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Chloe replied smirking, taking a sip of her latte.

 

“I don’t know how you can drink that shit,” Beca said, referring to Chloe's sweet latte.

 

“I like lattes,” was the answer.

 

“Well, I like you a latte,” Beca blurted suddenly, hand flying over her mouth as she processed what she had just said.

 

Chloe, just laughed and replied, “I like you a latte too. Wanna go on a date with me?”

 

“Sure.”

 

“Maybe we can have our own kind of ‘girls night’,” Chloe said suggestively.

 

“I’d like that,” replied Beca with a grin.


End file.
